I've been saying since around last August that this was shaping up to be on of the best Summer Movie Season's in a long time. With that said, the must-sees are in
green, the likely-will-see-in-the-theaters are in
blue and the avoid-at-all-costs are in
red, with the undecideds in normal
default.
MAY -
4: Spider Man 3 Having already read the official novelization, the story is definitely the best in an already spectacular series. It downplays the action a little bit, and throws the emotions to phase 4. Still, fans and average-joe moviegoers should find this one will be repeat viewings.
Lucky You The long-delayed film, director Curtis Hanson's (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile, In Her Shoes) latest, has intrigued me for a long time. It will probably get destroyed in theaters (smart thinking for May 4, Warner
), but I will make a great effort to definitely catch this one either in dollar theaters or rent on DVD.
18: Shrek the Third My word, this really looks terrible. You can tell the success is going to the writer's heads; each film carries more flatulence and even less plot. Probably one of a few surprising bombs this summer, I will most likely pass on this one until DVD unless forced to see it by my friends, which will most likely happen.
25: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Yo ho, yo ho, a midnight's show for me.
Honestly, this is the only film I look forward to this summer more than Spider Man, and I've been waiting for Spidey since July 2004. Already have most of my night planned out for this one, just waiting for the tickets to go on sale. And the green I put the title in has two different meanings (in other words, Titanic, move over).
JUNE -
1: Knocked Up I was one of the few who didn't miss Wedding Crashers and couldn't care less about The 40-Year Old Virgin in theaters. I ended up eventually renting it and was pleasently surprised by it. That said, the trailers for Knocked look similar to those for Virgin, so I might see it, and I might not. One big plus: Izzie's in it! One minus: She's said woman referred to as Knocked Up, with that hairy guy from Virgin and You, Me and Dupree doing the male part of the eqaution.
8: Ocean's Thirteen This looks so much better than the massively dissapointing Twelve. I'm really hoping Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin's presence (as well as a major lack of Catherine Zeta-Jones) will lift this one back up to Eleven's standards. No matter what, I'm all in on this one.
Surf's Up I am really getting sick and tired of penguins, and this looks like the stupid thing they've been in yet. I laugh every time the trailer make mention that it's "Inspired by a true story", and unless this pulls a Chicken Run and gets excellent reviews, I will avoid this one.
Hostel: Part II Part one already had me upchucking my lunch, and the fact that this will open against Ocean's Thirteen and will have to stave off holdovers from Spidey, Shrek and Pirates, I doubt the teen crowd will go for it either. Pass.
15: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer The first one was one of the most fun films of 2005, and this looks to hold up just as well. My wallet will be on a very short leash this summer, however, and this may wait for DVD. Hopefully, a dollar theater viewing will be attainable around August, or maybe one of my friend's can spring for me.
22: Evan Almighty Bruce Almighty is among my favorite comedies of the past decade, and I love me some Steve Carrell, plus supporting players Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes, John Goodman, Lauren Graham and John Michael Higgins are always fun to watch.... So why haven't the trailers really grabbed me yet? It looks cute, but... these days, is cute really such a good thing? Hopefully I'll be proven wrong and will laugh through this one as much I did at Bruce.
27: Live Free or Die Hard YIPPEE-KAY-YAY, MOTHERF*****! One of the best action franchises of all time gets a fourth installment, and hopefully the role of normally boyish Justin Long won't cramp Bruce's wacko John McClane syle. Please, just don't go all out Terminator on me.
29: Ratatouille Much like Luke, the ad campaign for this one has left me less than hooked, but Pixar hasn't failed yet and I doubt they'll start now. I guess you can say I'm already waiting in line for this one.
Mama's Boy No, this has nothing to do with the moronice Grandma's Boy from January 2006, on the contrary; this is Jon Heder's first return to indie comedy since Nappy D. With a director I've never heard of, and a cast of others including the usually stunning Diane Keaton, Jeff Daniels and Anna Faris, I have high hopes for this one and will bet the over-the-top hijinks of The Benchwarmers and Blades of Glory will be left behind for more down to earth heartfelt comedy. But, with two other movies I'm already commited to the same weekend, this may get lost in the shuffle for me.
JULY -
4: Transformers Eh.... I really don't know about this one. Having never been a fan of the cartoons, the idea of Optimus Prime on a big screen isn't that exciting for me. But I do like me some Micheal Bay, no matter how schlocky it gets, the action's always worth it. Label this as a maybe.
License to Wed I'm sure most of you haven't heard of this, so here's the plot summary from IMDb - "A marriage counselor (Robin Williams) puts one couple (deadpan master John Krasinski, hit-or-miss Mandy Moore) through a series of relationship challenges during a the most grueling marriage preparation course ever. " Directed by Ken Kwapis, frequent director of episodes for The Office, this one kind of intrigues me. Having just recently finally warmed up to Office, this may be a worthwhile light romcom in the midst of the usual shoot-em-ups and over-budgeted-blockbusters summer movie season always has to offer.
13: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I've never missed a Potter film during opening week, and I don't intend to start now. Looks great, can't wait for it (and book number 7) to finally arrive.
20: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry It should be fun to watch Adam Sandler and Kevin James squirm as a faux gay couple, and with Jessica Biel trapsing around in that bikini (mmm....
), this one should definitely be worth it.
Hairspray Aside from the fact that it's a musical comedy, there are only four words needed to get me to see this movie: John Travolta...
in
drag.
All I hope is soon we'll get a trailer that actually shows us something.
27: The Simpsons Movie The trailers for this so far have left me giggling, but one of America's funniest shows in history has been incredibly weak in the past few years. Et tu, Homer?
Well, right now I'm tired and want some shuteye. Finish this tomorrow.
JM
